Charles County, population 125,000, is located 25 miles south of Washington, D.C., across the Potomac River from Virginia. In 1992, the County adopted an ordinance that allows for the transfer of development rights from land enrolled in Agricultural Land Preservation Districts.
Sending area landowners can achieve an average on site density of one unit per five acres or elect to transfer development opportunity at the rate of one TDR per three acres. The potential receiving sites are parcels zoned RL, RM, RH, MX and PRD. The owners of land in these zones can use transferred development rights to exceed the density allowed in each zone as a matter of right; the zoning code specifies the extra density that is permissible with TDR. However, the proposed development must comply with the standards for Suburban Cluster or Mixed Residential Cluster Development. Please refer to Beyond Takings and Givings for additional information on program procedures.
Beyond Takings and Givings stated that the Charles County TDR program had permanently preserved 1,183 acres as of December 2000. In a March 2005 update, the County reports that TDRs have been transferred from seven sending parcels, permanently preserving 1,924 acres. TDRs had been used in five receiving site projects as of the end of 2004. At that time, development rights had been certified on 20 Agricultural Preservation Districts in Charles County.
